A Niagara family has found a ray of light after their loved one, Nadine Gurczenski’s murder investigation went cold for 25 years.
On Thursday, Niagara police say they concluded the probe of Nadine Gurczenski, who was 26 at the time was found dead in a roadside ditch back in 1999. Police say they narrowed down the suspect using technology for genetic tracing.
READ MORE: Niagara police identify suspect in cold case involving Nadine Gurczenski
While the pain of losing Nadine will never go away, the family hopes their experience inspires others to never give up on unsolved cases.
“25 years went by and it just always felt we may never see the end of this.”
Nadine’s daughter, Heather Gurczenski thinks about her mother, Nadine who was taken away from her at a young age.
“She was so nice to me I remember she was so nice when and some of the smells of her Jamaican cooking. Sometimes when I smell a certain smell I’ll think of food she was cooking,” Heather said.
Niagara police investigators determined the killer through DNA analysis.
Born in Jamaica, Nadine met Paul Gurczenski in 1990. The pair ended up getting married and Heather was born in 1993.
“Strong personality… she knew what she wanted, she knew what she didn’t want and she was a go getter…” Paul said.
However, Paul says a few years later, the couple split up and he gained custody of Heather. Nadine would move to Toronto and would see her young daughter occasionally. As time passed contact was limited.
On May 8 1999 in Vineland, three cyclists found Nadine’s body in a roadside ditch. Her body was discovered in the area of Victoria Avenue and Eighth Avenue with very little clothing on and injuries tied to strangulation according to investigators.
Once Nadine was identified, the leads to determine who killed her came up empty, except for some DNA found on her body. After years of struggling to find a match and an investigative profile on a TV series, a breakthrough was made in 2021, using advanced genetic technology to trace family trees.
The DNA was matched with Joseph Archie “Raymond” Brousseau, a trucker from northeastern Ontario who was 34 years old in 1999. Police say he died in 2017 but would face a second degree murder charge if he were alive.
“First case in the region solved with genetic genealogy, first one. I think there’s four all together in Ontario. First one in Niagara,” Paul said.
Paul and Heather hope other families experiencing similar tragedies encourage them to have hope as they find some solace.
“What would I say to Nadine? I would say thank you for Heather and the grandkids… and we got him,” Paul said.
Nadine’s daughter Heather said, “we’re going to make you proud and I love you. And to anyone else who has lost someone this way, there is hope.”
Heather says she intends to honour her mother by launching content online highlighting her life and her case that went unsolved since 1999.